Thanks for your post and analysis Wally.
Joubert has very loyal fans - but they don't want to consider his mistakes.
Without such high pcs Joubert would have not made the podium.

I know, how can anyone completely ignore a major edge call, the "e" designation given by the technical panel, and claim it's not a major error, that person must be wiling to point at pig and insist it's a horse I guess. The major edge call not only is a major error with negative GOE up to -3, it's also one of those calls where the judges would be required to give a negative GOE without the liberty to do any otherwise. It's almost as bad as a fall. Anyway, it is what it is. I just call it as I see it.

uh...Patrick Chan has the second highest TES among the Top 10 skaters, only behind Takahashi. So without PCS, he still would have been 2nd. How about checking your facts before making yet another unsupported and easily disproved claim?

What I would like to know is, if Joubert had not fallen on the triple lutz, would the judges still have placed him behind Patrick Chan? If Joubert were to skate a clean program with no mistakes and 2 quads, would he still place behind a flawed Chan program?

Joubert would be ahead of Chan if he had done a good Lutz instead of falling. He lost to Chan by 5.5 points, which is amount of extra points he would have gotten for landing a Lutz with average GOE of +1.5 instead of falling (plus his PCS would have been a bit higher).

Joubert would be ahead of Chan if he had done a good Lutz instead of falling. He lost to Chan by 5.5 points, which is amount of extra points he would have gotten for landing a Lutz with average GOE of +1.5 instead of falling (plus his PCS would have been a bit higher).

He is super popular in Canada and largely considered a candid and well liked role model. His image is everywhere from McDonalds to cereal boxes. He is very endearing in his home country and also in the country of his parents, notably in China. The Chinese media constantly refer to him by his Chinese name and in an endearing manner, it's obvious they are proud of him being Chinese. As for consistency on the Triple Axel, look, he just turned 19. Please name me another male skater aside from Plushenko who accomplished as much as he did when they were his age. Note, Michal Brezina is in fact older than Patrick Chan, so is Adam Rippon. I think your expectation is both unfair and unrealistic. He is pretty consistent on those Triple Axels and overall, a very solid jumper. That's where most of his GOE come from - the quality of his superior jumps. When he lands his jumps, he picks up large amount of GOE in similar way that Yu-Na Kim does because they tend to be of high quality in execution - solid technique, no edge call, excellent flow in/out, soft landing, good height and yes, insanely difficult transitions into most of those jumps. That's why he gather high GOE for his jumps, they weren't free gifts, he earned them by pushing the boundaries of figure skating - sometimes, at his own detriment like yesterday, when he fell on that Triple Loop because the entry was just insane. You make it sound as though those were given to him for free but that is just not the case. Yet, you keep saying you acknowledge he does beautiful and difficult transitions yet simultaneously failed to realize that's why he gets those GOE. To me, your problem is you are unable to quantify what skaters do on ice. I think you really need to take out a piece of paper, mark each element you see from the skaters you watch and act like a judge and actually award GOE, element by element. Then, you'll appreciate where the judges are coming from.

Finally, the possibility to use the Internet... network companies.
During the men's free skate I was busy writing a last minute article for the local newspaper and had to put it aside for a while to make notes on the men's performances.
I am positively surprised that the evening turned out to be far more interesting than I had dared to hope

Schultheiss:

From the start I have loved his choice of "topics" when it comes to building up a program. Also the music. Sorry. It's just so funny and yet great
It was clear just how focused he actually was on skating a technically clean program. And his efforts were rewarded. Love the way he goes into the performance, the emotions - the best of any sport really.
I have seen more energetic performances by him but at the moment I cannot really criticize him for the lack of it this time in Torino. The presentation can surely be made better but whole in whole he is a rising star of Scandinavian figure skating. If only he'd be able to continue for many years to come (knocks on the wood). Of all the young skaters I find him most interesting to watch at the moment.

Van der Perren:

What a finish for his career. Wow! 4-3-3, really, really nice. Don't remember the last time I saw it on ice. Also I am glad to see the "higher, faster, stronger" devise proven to be possible in fs. The last seasons have been slightly underwhelming. Van der Perren's combination was probably one of the biggest surprises of the evening.

And it seems that success comes in pairs: his wife skated really, really well yesterday.

What really annoyed me, though, were the comments made by our "professional" figure skating commentators. They were more than willing to hand out the trophy of "first 4-3-3" in the history of figure skating. I mean, please, get your facts RIGHT! They have done a lot worse though. You'd have to hear what sort of things estonian sports commentators are coming up with. So tragic that I cannot stop laughing sometimes :banging:

Kozuka:

You know, it seems to me, that the Japanese men have chosen the music of their LP this year so that they can either skate beautifully and win beautifully or skate horribly and still lose beautifully...
The melody... oh the melody.
The performances touch you, they truly do and I have come to love their skating more than anything where the emotions are concerned.

Chan:

What!? Just what is going on with the judging?
At first I had a feeling like they are slowly but surely pushing towards awarding Chan the gold, no matter what.
I'm sorry, I just cannot see him as the "wonder-child" he is made out to be. His programs may be skated as neatly as possible where the transitions and all the little details are concerned but he is so far from being flawless that I feel seriously puzzled at the marks he receives every time he falls on ice or does all the little mistakes he shouldn't be doing if he really is as good as everybody is saying.
Yes, I am also probably biased. Shoot me.

Joubert:

Go Joubert!
Wonderful recovery from the horrors of not-so-far-past. Amazing start for the lp. I basically jumped out of the armchair after he landed his second quad and then the fall...
Nevermind. The rest of the program - two thumbs up. I am truly happy for him! After the nightmare of the Olympics and Euros, this should give him some peace of mind at least.
But the judging needs to be flushed down the toilet, really. You cannot compare Joubert and Chan, you really can't. Both have their weaknesses and strengths but all in all I believe the difficult elements should receive higher recognition.

Brezina:

Damn, I like this guy.
Nerves of steel. Consistency. Clean and impressive technique. Jumping ability. Will definetly improve as far as presentation is concerned but the emotion is there. My bets on him for the future. The next possible star from Europe with a real chance to succeed big-time.

Also, nice to see the judges finally rewarding him for his consistency. Superb, Brezina! Love it!

Takahashi:

And here is our winner. Highly deserved. Congratulations!
I was mesmerized by his short program and even more so after he went for the quad in free. The footwork is incredible, the best of the evening without doubt. The same goes for artistry and pure energy he brought out on ice.

My respect to him, since I do know how difficult it is to come back after a knee injury (and since it is figure skating and not track-and-field or so, it is even harder).

The right man won but I'd really, really like to re-arrange the top five.

^^^^^
Super analyses. You seem to judge skaters as individuals and not by your own country whatever that is. I am the same way. Although I am an American, I am on the Brezina bandwagon for future gold medals. I do like it when an American wins but not at the expense of someone more deserving.

^^^^^
Super analyses. You seem to judge skaters as individuals and not by your own country whatever that is. I am the same way. Although I am an American, I am on the Brezina bandwagon for future gold medals. I do like it when an American wins but not at the expense of someone more deserving.

I agree with all your comments,

Sorry, there was no "analysis" in those comments whatsoever. It's an opinion all right, which he/she is entitled to. Discussing IJS without using numbers is like trying to make pasta with chicken!